Did you feel my idea regarding HUP
and popularizations was off-base?
Oh, I strongly agreed with that part. Feynman
agreed with that, too. Physics has its own philosophy,
which is just as sophisticated and IMHO much more
sensible than the philosophies that philosophers
cook up, and RPF was quite an adept practitioner
and explainer of this philosophy. Specifically:
-- _The Feynman Lectures on Physics_ Volume I Chapter 3
"The relationship of physics to other sciences"
[reprinted as a chapter in _Six Easy Pieces_]
-- ibid, Volume III section 2.6
"Philosophical implications" (of QM)
-- _The Character of Physical Law_
the whole book, but especially
Chapter 2 "The relation of mathematics to physics"
Chapter 7 "Seeking new laws"
==========
Another reference that is useful in this area is the
article in the Britannica "Philosophies of the Branches
of Knowledge". It goes on for 75 (large) pages. It's
not super-elementary, but it should be accessible
to the intelligent reader. It's not the last word on
the subject, but it will at least tell you the meaning
of the buzzwords philosophers use.
==============================
There's a partly-unfortunate but partly-sensible
tendency on lists such as this for people to reply
only to the parts they disagree with. That's sensible
precisely because most of us agree most of the time,
and we wouldn't want the list flooded with "me too"
endorsements. The unfortunate part is that a casual
observer would overestimate the level of disagreement
by several orders of magnitude.